Sam Houston State Upsets Texas Tech in NCAA Regional Final

Monday's NCAA Tournament Regional Final between Texas Tech and Sam Houston State was low-scoring compared to Sunday night's slugfest. The Bearkats prevailed over the Red Raiders 4-3 to win the Lubbock Regional and advance to the NCAA Super Regional. Sam Houston State beat Texas Tech two out of the three game the teams played against each other in the Lubbock Regional.

Sam Houston State was the home team for Monday's Regional Final and they opened up the scoring in the bottom of the second inning. Bearkats' first baseman Hunter Hearn singled in Robbie Rojas from third to give the Bearkats a 1-0 lead.

Three innings later, Texas Tech roughed up Sam Houston State's third pitcher of the day, Riley Cooper. All three runs that the Red Raiders scored in Monday's game came in the fifth inning. Orlando Garcia had the biggest hit in the inning with a two-run single scoring Hunter Hargrove and Tanner Gardner.

With Texas Tech leading 3-1 in bottom of the fifth inning, Sam Houston State immediately chipped into the lead. Taylor Beane drove in Hearn with a double down the right field line to make the score 3-2, Texas Tech.

Texas Tech wasn't able to respond in their half of the sixth, going 1-2-3. The Bearkats in the bottom of the sixth quickly put runners on base again. With one out, Rojas worked a walk after going to a full count. The next hitter, Jaxxon Grisham singled and Rojas went from first to third. Then, Hearn hit a grounder to Garcia at shortstop, but the double play wasn't able to be converted. Grisham was out a second on the fielder's choice, Rojas scored to tie the game at 3-3 and Hearn reached first base safely.

In the seventh inning, it looked like Texas Tech was going to have a runner at third with one out. But Josh Jung was called out at third trying to stretch a double into a triple. In the video above it appears that Jung's left hand may have been pushed off the bag by Beene, but the umpire ruled that Jung's momentum was taking him off the base and that he was tagged out legally.